ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: ANTICAPITALISM, BOB DYLAN PHOTOS, KERRY GUINAN #GE16 →

Wednesday, 10 February – Anticapitalism, 19:00, Free, the Lord Edward

What does taking an anticapitalist stance mean to us today? What strategies can one follow, and what actions can one take? Can or should any aspects of capitalist innovation be harnessed? The Dublin Jacobin Reading Group are back for their third meeting of the year in the Lord Edward this today. Brush up on some opposing views here and here. Facebook event here.

Thursday, 11 February – Anyone’s Brother: Vigil for Caoilte O Broin, 19:00, Kildare Street

We’ve come some way from the silence and stigma that have surrounded mental-health issues in Ireland, but de-stigmatisation and reform are not one and the same, and we have some way to go before patients are treated as people. Caoilte O Broin’s family are seeking legislative change so that sufferers of mental-health issues and addiction don’t fall through the massive fissures in our system, and they will be holding a candlelit vigil outside Government Buildings on Thursday. Facebook event here.

Friday, 12 February – Twin Headed Wolf Album Launch, 20:00, €16.69, Dublin Unitarian ChurchD

Recorded in the Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo this January, the vocals in Twin Headed Wolf’s The Long Decay (Songs From a Tomb) are made especially otherworldly through the echo of the barrel-vaulted, 800-square-metre chamber. The sisters will be launching their new recordings in the Dublin Unitarian Church, accompanied by the playful stage antics and offbeat humour they’re known for. Facebook event here, tickets here.

Saturday, 13 February – Sophie Cooper // Tor Invocation Band // Wry Myrrh // DJ Christine Kelly, BYOB, Steambox

Sophie Cooper is touring the country with Tor Invocation Band this February, starting off in Steambox. Her approach is experimental, and she plays with elements from psychedelic pop and drone textures, accompanied by her own ethereal vocals. With her on the night will be Jake Blanchard as Tor Invocation Band and Irene Buckley and Ellen King collaborating as Wry Myrrh. Facebook group here.

Sunday, 14 February – Bob Dylan, NYC 1961-64, 13:00-18:00, Free, Gallery of Photography

What makes Ted Russell’s newly unveiled collection of early Bob Dylan images so interesting isn’t necessarily the new imagery we have to add to the Dylan mythos, but the prominence of his partner, civil-rights activist Suze Rotolo, who had a major impact on the development of his political stance. Curated by Chris Murray, the photographs feature a youthful Greenwich Village, and a Dylan still working in obscurity. More info here.

Monday, 15 February – Kerry Guinan General Election Press Conference, 17:00, Temple Bar Gallery

Class structures regulate the way we engage with ourselves, with each other and with the art that we create and consume. Kerry Guinan is standing as an independent in this election, with the aim of liberating art from class. Among other things, she’s calling for progressive taxation of art workers and a redistribution of wealth, state provision for art facilities and the abolition of educational barriers to art work. Facebook event here.

Tuesday, 16 February – The Survivalist, 20:50, €9, IFI

Post-apocalyptic worlds are an inexhaustible source of fantasy and fear. In Stephen Fingleton’s imagining, a nameless man lives in solitude, tending his crops and guarding his forest shack, until a woman and her daughter arrive with a bargain, and an unsteady balance of power is brokered. Actors Olwen Fouéré  and Martin McCann will attend the screening on 12 February, which will be followed by a Q&A. Details here.

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: HOUSING ACTION, PROKOFIEV AND POWERVIOLENCE

Wednesday, 27 January – Julie Merrimen: Revisions, 10:00-18:00, Free, The Hugh Lane

Revisions is a study of where drawing collides with technology, via cartography, mathematics, engineering and architecture. After a year-long involvement with Dublin City Council, meeting with housing, architecture and engineering staff, Merrimen used 16mm-wide lengths of carbon paper to explore the “slippage” and constraints these council staffers faced. Learn more here.

Thursday, 28 January – Where the Heart Is, 12 Henrietta Street

Artists, dabblers and amateurs have joined forces to raise awareness for Dublin’s ongoing homelessness crisis, creating and donating artworks which will be selling for between €10 and €40. All proceeds will be going to fund the Irish Housing Network, a collective of direct-action groups. There’ll be speakers from related arts and community groups and music from Pick ‘n’ Mix on the night, all in the beautiful restoration project of Henrietta House. Facebook event here.

Friday, 29 January – The Lowest Form / The Number Ones / Disguise, 20:00, €8, BYOB, Tenterhooks

Hardcore London punkers The Lowest Form will be landing down on Tenterhooks with an armload of fuzz pedals and the speed-driven obstacle-course of powerviolence that is their new LP,Negative Ecstasy. Critic Martin Ken’s reaction has proved definitive: “I want to bash my brains out, bleed all over your drugs and watch you smoke ’em up as I drift off to the inevitable.” Unrelenting and deft, Negative Ecstasy is a whirlwind of rage and misery that is near comedic at times, but always desperate and explosive, reaching the brink, then puking over it. They’ll be joined by Disguise and the Number Ones. BYOB, but don’t be a jerk and drink outside. Facebook here.

Saturday, 30 January – People’s Housing Forum Part 3: Strategy, Organising and Action, 10:00, Teacher’s Club

This Saturday will see a review of the demands set forth in the 2015 People’s Housing Forum, and a discussion of what strategies, campaigns and actions could be set for the forthcoming year. The housing forum looks to inspire, but also to provide a space where tools can be shared and knowledge disseminated. Power-structure analysis workshops will give you the opportunity to collectively examine who holds power and makes decisions around housing, and how they can be challenged. Issues surrounding social housing, private rental accommodation, homelessness, mortgages and evictions, Traveller accommodation, migrants and direct provision will all be discussed. Facebook here, and more here.

Sunday, 31 January – Peter and the Wolf, 12:00/15:00, €18/€60, National Concert Hall

Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf has seen countless iterations, narrated by everyone from David Bowie to Bill Clinton and Sofia Loren. Commissioned in the USSR in 1936, Peter and the Wolf is a fairy-tale-style story of the boy Peter and the animals surrounding his grandfather’s forest home, in which each character has their own instrumental accompaniment. The RTÉ Orchestra will be giving a live accompaniment of the the 2008 stop-motion adaptation, which won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. Facebook event here, and more details here.

Monday, 1 February – The Assassin, 14:30, €7.60, IFI

Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsein’s The Assassin is certainly among the most attractive films slighted in this year’s fiasco of Oscar nominations – though really it is a bit unnecessary to feature “ravishing” more than once as a pull-quote in your trailer. It is much more than just attractive, though, when it comes to its expert depiction of martial arts. An elegance unusual even to thewuxia (period martial arts) genre is maintained throughout, with much of the film focused on prowling and observational shots rather than straight-up action footage. Realism remains tempered by symbolism and court intrigue, as we track the young assassin’s own chase amidst her ongoing moral misgivings. Listed here.

Tuesday, 2 February – In the Flesh, 10:00-17:00, Free, The Lab

In The Flesh is a video collaboration involving artist Bridget O’Gorman, historian Brenda Malone and writer Sue Rainsford in response to the 1916 Rising. Artefacts from the museum store at Collins Barracks are brought to life by Rainsford, depicted entirely by her descriptions rather than shown to the viewer. Among many objects one might expect to find – firearms, printed manifestos and the usual objects of conflict – are more personal items: the felt hat worn by James Connolly and marked by a stray bullet; a 1916 tea flask bearing the fingerprints of its owner. More details here.

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: JANUARY 20, 2016 →

Wednesday, 20 January – Phonica: One, 20:00, Free, Jack Nealon’s Pub

Phonica: One is a new multidisciplinary evening hosted by poet/curator Christodoulos Makris and performer/composer Olesya Zdorovetska. The creators hope to provide a platform for exchanges among artists from different fields, and a space within which new ideas can be explored and improvised. Its first outing, this Wednesday, brings together acoustic/electronic composer Linda Buckley, saxophonist Nick Roth and writers Sue Rainsford and Maurice Scully. Facebook event here.

Thursday, 21 January – Rosebud, 18:00, Free, Library Project

Black Church Print Studio are launching a specially produced edition of The Fold with an exhibition of artist responses to the power of manifesto wielded by the printed publication. Alongside the multi-medium exhibition will be a performance given by Philip Napier, and a reading by Sue Rainsford. Curated by Alison Pilkington and Cora Cummins, the exhibition is a collaboration involving artists Michelle Boyle, Janine Davidson, Mary A. Fitzgerald, Emma Finucane, Cathy Henderson, Robert Ballagh, Sophie Carroll Hunt, Mo Levy, Maeve Lynch, Marcus Oakley, Sarah Pierce and Lee Welch. Facebook event here.

Friday, 22 January – Jan Pleitner: Water for the Tribe, 18:00, Free, Kerlin Gallery

Jan Pleitner’s paintings are vibrant, full of movement and saturated colour that alternately bleeds or is layered thickly, with zigzags that scratch or form deeper cuts. The gaze is not so much drawn in as it is thrust towards different paths that fight for attention. Referencing, in its title, Frank Herbert’s Dune, the intensity of Pleitner’s collection reflects, on one hand the dizzying pace of the physical world as well as his durational approach to painting. His palette, meanwhile, is otherworldly. Facebook event here.

Saturday, 23 January – Un Chant d’Amour and L’Age D’Or, 13:30, €8.60, Irish Film Institute

IMMA is collaborating with the IFI on a weekend-long film series for the What We Call Love exhibition. Saturday afternoon sees a double billing of Jean Genet’s only film, the long-banned Un Chant d’Amour, and Luis Buñuel’s surrealist Dalí collaboration, L’Age d’Or. Genet’s explicit silent film (with cinematography by Jean Cocteau) presents the passionate but unconsummated relationship between two prisoners, witnessed by a voyeuristic prison guard. L’Age d’Or, meanwhile, was one of the first sound films to be made in France, and tracks one couple’s attempts at consummating their relationship in the face of the bourgeois structures and absurdities of modern life. FB event here, IFI’s site here.

Sunday, 24 January – Spice Sing Along, 19:30, €5, MVP

Aoife McElwain of Forkful fame is following up a slew of massive nostalgia-inducing singalongs with a paean to the most iconised girl band there has ever been. Obtain some white PVC platforms (perhaps lose the Union Jack minidress), relive the glory days and begin practicing the “Stop” dance immediately. Facebook event here.

Monday, 25 January – The Danish Girl, 15:40, €7.50, Lighthouse Cinema

Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl is an interpretative portrayal of artist and transgender pioneer Einar Wegener, played by Eddie Redmayne, about to undergo gender reassignment in the early twentieth century, then becoming Lili Elbe. As with The King’s Speech and Les Misérables, Hooper has a highly recognisable aesthetic, as well as the emotional core of individual struggle. Tickets here.

Tuesday, 26 January – The Noise Upstairs – The Night of Infinite Sadness, 19:00, Free, Chaplin’s Bar

Are you constantly being booed offstage for bringing down the mood? Have your friends stopped inviting you to things because you are so desperately grim? Let your melancholy loose at the first Noise Upstairs of the year. There’ll be a sign-up sheet and open slots of five to ten minutes, and performances from Tebi Rex and Mark Ward. Facebook event here.

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: JANUARY 13, 2016 →

Wednesday, 13 January – FREEDOM (of speech) Party, 19:00, Free, the Lord Edward

Join the Dublin Jacobin Reading group for their AGM: a night of impassioned discussion and supreme nerdiness. The Dublin Jacobin meet up to talk about everything from social justice, to sexuality, self and state, to where freedom of speech sits in today’s left-wing discourse. New members are welcome, as are suggestions for directions the group should take in the coming year. Find some reading for the meeting here, here and here. Facebook event here.

Thursday, 14 January – ActionAid Quiz, 19:30, €10 (€40 per team), Doheny & Nesbitt

Each day sees about 2,000 refugees arriving in the Greek island of Lesbos. With all proceeds raised going to support ActionAid’s humanitarian response there, your money will go to supplying cultural mediators to help aid workers communicate with refugees, and the creation of support systems for women and people requiring disability care. Open to all, the quiz will comprise ten rounds of general-knowledge questions, a raffle and prizes for first and second places and best name. Details here, Facebook event here.

Friday, 15 January – Sea Pinks/Ginnels, 20:00, €10, Bello Bar

Post-punk pop-y drone merchants Sea Pinks launch their Soft Days EP in Bello Bar this Friday, presented by Skinny Wolves. Ex-Girls Names Neil Brogan, Steven Henry and Davey Agnew will relate some bittersweet real talk alongside Ginnels and surf-pop four-piece Me and My Dog. Facebook event here.

Saturday, 16 January – SEASONS, 19:00, €6.18/€9.33, MART

MART are hosting Goldmoth Media’s ‘Winter’ edition of SEASONS, a collaborative multidisciplinary exhibit of Irish talent across music, art and technology. There’ll be performances from Owensie, Bad Bones and SEASONS DJs, with artwork and installations throughout. Owensie’s Dramamine came out to not a small amount of acclaim late last year, with nine tracks of intricate guitar finger-work and falsetto, while producer Sal Stapleton AKA Bad Bones has been going strong for some time now, and has just launched her first single from her self-produced EP. Nip over to Paula Temple, Truss and John Hussey in District 8 for afters. Facebook event here, tickets here.

Sunday, 17 January – Ballad Tour for Dunkirk, 14:00, Donation, the Lord Edward

Ballad Tours Dublin (AKA Sean Fitzgerald) provide a retelling of history through ballad, poetry and story. This Sunday will see a special session in the the Lord Edward to raise money in aid of the Grande Synthe refugee camp in Dunkirk, France, where 3,000 migrants are trying to survive in deteriorating conditions. The evening will be a historical tour of Dublin through ballad, with proceeds going to buy wood-burning stoves through the Irish Benders and Burners group. Facebook event here.

Monday, 18 January – Good Games Night II, 19:00, Donation, the Black Sheep

Good Games Night is back in the Black Sheep for round two. There’ll be four screens, loads of consoles and plenty of space to relax and avail of the food and drink offers on the night. Magic Card traders welcome, and it’s a pay-by-donation policy at the door. Facebook event here.

Tuesday, 19 January – Room, 18:15, €9, Irish Film Institute

Emma Donoghue’s 2010 novel Room has been adapted by director Lenny Abrahamson, won the People’s Choice Award at Toronto, and seems geared towards winning more. Ma (played by Brie Larson) and her son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) exist within the confines of an eleven-by-eleven-foot subterranean room, at the mercy of Old Nick, who abducted Ma seven years earlier. Donoghue’s striking seventh novel may pose some difficulties to convey on screen: the narration of the story comes entirely from five-year-old Jack, whose world and understanding is composed of and structured by the room’s objects and the routines set by his mother. Tickets here.

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: JANUARY 6, 2016 →

Wednesday, 6 January – Nollaig na mBan, €10, 19:45,  Irish Writers’ Centre

“Little Christmas” was originally conceived, some say, as an occasion upon which women would have one day – one day – to put their feet up and let the men take care of the household duties. Luckily, we can do one better than that. For the second year running, the Irish Writers’ Centre are taking back “Women’s Christmas” as an opportunity to celebrate some of the country’s diverse female voices. This year sees an assortment of spoken-word poets, writers, dramatists and broadcasters take to the stage and soapbox, with Joanna Walsh, Michelle Read, Sinead Gleeson, Lisa McInerney and plenty more. Bring a book from your favourite female writer as a gift to exchange. More details here. Tickets here.

Thursday, 7 January – East of Berlin, €10/€16, 20:15, Project Arts Centre

Writer Hannah Moscovitch and director Lee Wilson explore the discomforting origin story of Rudi. Growing up in Paraguay in the 1970s, Rudi had believed his father to be a physician in the German troops in the Second World War. The truth, though, is later revealed through his unwitting friend Herman. What ensues is a depiction of the struggle to accept oneself in light of revelations beyond one’s control. More details here.

Friday, 8 January – Charlotte Prodger: Stoneymollan Trail, Free, Temple Bar Gallery & Studios

Bournemouth-born, Glasgow-dwelling artist Charlotte Prodger gives her first solo show in Ireland, curated by Linsey Young. Revolving around a video displayed on one screen, the multi-format footage, shot on iPhone and HD camera, with a voiceover, and through screen-printed graphics, gives a personal history, but also probes the mediating power of the screen over subjectivity. More-enticing blurb here.

Saturday, 9 January – Anti-Patriarchy Chaos Social, 20:00, BYOB, Jigsaw

The Anti-Patriarchy Chaos Social is a glorious reimagining of what social spaces can be, run by feminists for feminists. The evening will aim to provide a safe, mutually supportive space for frank discussion and lots of carousing. Things will kick off with an open exchange of what you see as the problems that social spaces face, what you think some potential solutions could be and what you would ultimately like the group to provide. Spoken word, dancing and collaborative playlisting to follow. More here.

Sunday, 10 January – Serge Charchoune, Free, Douglas Hyde Gallery

The uncharacterisable work of Franco-Prussian painter Serge Charchoune has been selected for the Douglas Hyde by Merlin James. Charchoune created work at the margins of the modernist movement, influenced by those tropes while still evading them. He has, as such, been largely forgotten. His own interests ranged from the obscure and symbolic (synaesthesia, Rosicrucianism) to the irrevocably modern and outré (Dada). Click this link for more.

 Monday, 11 January – Last Hijack, €9, 20:30, Irish Film Institute

The story of Somalian pirate Mohamed is relayed by Tommy Pallotta and Femke Wolting through styles of documentary, relayed sequences and distinctive animation. Mohamed leads a double life, at once a feared pirate and middle-aged man trapped by economic circumstance, with dream-sequence-esque rotoscoping animation admitting viewers into his psychological world: his past and his motivations. More details here.

Tuesday, 12 December – The Importance of Being Earnest, €25/€32, The Gate

Oscar Wilde’s language has become so ingrained in our cultural landscape that it is difficult, sometimes, to feel like anything revelatory could come of it. The Importance of Being Earnest remains one of his most-loved and imitated dramas. Seasoned director Patrick Mason injects new vigour into it, with noteworthy set and costume design from Francis O’Connor. More here.

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: DECEMBER 16, 2015 →

Wednesday, 16 December – Solas Awards Exhibition, Free, 11:00 – 18:00, Gallery of Photography

In this exhibition, comprised of nine artists selected by an international jury, the Gallery of Photography in Meeting House Square will display the winners of this new award for contemporary photography, a collaboration between Source magazine and the gallery. Announced on 1 December, the winners include, among others, Emer Gillespie, Eamonn Doyle, Yvette Monahan and Ciarán Óg Arnold (whose book, I went to the worst of bars hoping to get killed, but all I could do was to get drunk again, won this year’s MACK First Book Award). Details here and here.

Thursday, 17 December – Little Gem Records Birthday, €10, 20:00, Grand Social

Little Gem are celebrating their first birthday with performances from Twinkranes, Patrick Kelleher and his Cold Dead Hands, Cal Folger Day, ¡NO and Fierce Mild, with more to be announced. The independent record label and shop have had a busy year, in between releases from White Sage, God Hates Disco, Night Trap and Fierce Mild, to name a few. The venture is a collaboration between Andy Walsh and the rest of the folks behind I Heart The Monster Hero and Record Store Gay, in the wake of the closure of the much-loved Elastic Witch label. DJs from Thin Air and Little Gem will be playing until late. Tickets here, Facebook event here.

Friday, 18 December – Discotekken Christmas Party: Home Alone & John Morales, €5/€10 or €8/€10/€15, 20:00/23:00, Sugar Club

It’s not the most original Christmas movie, but the appeal of this classic slapstick brat flick is indisputable. Pre-Party Monster, Macaulay Culkin gets free run of his family’s small suburban mansion over Christmas, when they manage to forget him and go without him on holiday to France. After the inevitable stretch of jumping on every bed, going through every drawer and eating every disgusting article of junk food within reach, he is catapulted into maturity when he must protect his home from two inept robbers using absurd obstacle-course-type traps. Disco legend John Morales will be following up with slick edits of 1970s classics. Facebook events here and here.

Saturday, 19 December – Popical Island All-Dayer 5, €10, 15:00, Whelan’s

The Popical Island crew are hosting their fifth incredibly good value Whelan’s all-dayer, and pretty much all family members and pals will be present, with Ginnels, No Monster Club, Lie Ins, The Number Ones, Owensie, Squarehead and a bunch more. It runs until 23:00, and your pass allows you to come and go as you fancy. Facebook event here.

Sunday, 20 December – Seamus Nolan: F**CK IMMA│What We Call Love, 19:00, IMMA, The Chapel

Seamus Nolan’s commission, invited by IMMA as part of its What We Call Love exhibition, is presented in three parts, in collaboration with Doom Opera, Stewart Home and Sean Fitzgerald. The work is a destabilising and provocative take on what love means in our society and how it is expressed through language and community spaces. As the first part of his work, Nolan documented the space occupied by a community of squatters in Dublin. In the second half, this Sunday evening, Nolan is inviting the public to an intimate performance in IMMA’s chapel from the Doom Opera collective, followed by a performance from Stewart Home on occultist theories of love. To participate in Sunday’s performance, email programme.exh@imma.ie with the subject line ‘Seamus Nolan audience’ by Thursday, 17:00. Facebook event here. More details here.

Monday, 22 December – The Red Shoes, €10, 20:30, Irish Film Institute

Moira Shearer stars in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s vivid 1948 production, based on the Hans Christian Andersen story in which the wearer of the red shoes is forced to dance eternally. Vicky Page is a young dancer launched into the spotlight as prima ballerina by the exacting Boris Lermontov, the company’s director, elegantly played by Anton Walbrook. As Page falls in love with Julian Crastor, the company’s conductor, the anguish of her erotic obsession is increasingly mirrored in the violent and surreal dance sequences. Details here.

Tuesday, 23 December – Sun Collective, €11.50/€14, 20:00, Smock Alley Theatre

The Sun Collective are an eclectic group of artists and musicians with an orchestrally inflected take on popular acoustic. They’ll be performing compositions from their forthcoming debut, Pandect, accompanied by Mick O’Brien on uilleann pipes and Aoife Ni Bhriain on fiddle, with spoken word from Adrian Crowley, winner of the award for Choice Music Album of the Year. Homebeat are hosting the eight-piece ensemble, in between gearing up for their grand finale to 2016, the Another Love Story New Year’s Eve party. Tickets here, Facebook event here.

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: DECEMBER 2, 2015 →

Wednesday, 2 December – #FirstWeds: Repeal the 8th, Free, 19:00, Wigwam

Campaigners, activists and interested parties will gather to discuss a 32-year-old piece of legislation that serves to punish rather than protect, forcing women out of the country and confiscating the reproductive rights of those who cannot go, whether they are on lower incomes or lack the ability or right to travel. Speakers on the night will include Nita Mishra, a PhD researcher on rights-based approaches, Amel Yacef, the chairperson of AkiDwA and Soraya Sobrevia, a case worker in theMigrant Rights Centre Ireland. Dublin City Councillor Eilis Ryan of the Workers’ Party will act as moderator. Facebook page here.

Thursday, 3 December – Winter Open Exhibition 2015, Free, 10:00-18:00, Rua Red, Tallaght

Rua Red launched their Winter Open Exhibition last Friday with Oisín Byrne’s ‘There Comes a Timeless’, winner of the 2014 Rua Red Judges’ Choice Award. Objects – found, crafted or manipulated – are laid out through the space with the intent of defying hierarchical order. This year’s exhibition features work from artists such as Sarah Wilson, Bartosz Kolata, Christine Carey, Eilis O’Toole, Dianne Whyte, Mary Burke, Anna Hryniewicz and Ella Bertilsson. More details here.

Friday, 4 December – Wriggle & Milkshake, €5/8, 23:00, Tengu

Milkshake will be launching upstairs in Tengu with a determinedly loose-minded electronic game plan of funk, house and techno from Ben Bix, Chris Holten and Rory Caraher, with guests Daire Carolan and Esteban. Downstairs, Wriggle have grime producer Shriekin’ headlining, offset by affrobeat and dancehall from Tim Nairn and Johnny Carroll of Manma Saor. Info here.

Saturday, 5 December – Suspended Animation 01, BYOB, €20/25/28, A bowling alley . . . somewhere.

In the grand old tradition of going bowling and getting locked, Suspended Animation are hosting a truckload of DJs and producers in their first-ever event, in a bowling alley-cum-arcade-cum-pool hall of undisclosed location. Bowling, pool and – eee – arcade games will be free all night. Which in itself is a big deal. It’ll be a mix of techno, house and disco with Nathan Jones, Frank B, Sim Simma, Weathertop et al. More info here. Grab your ticket here.

Sunday, 6 December – Bernadette Devlin: Notes on a Political Journey, €4, 16:00, Jigsaw

Bernadette Devlin, an Irish socialist and republican activist, came to international prominence at 21 years old when she was elected as a member of the UK’s House of Commons in 1969 on the strength of her role in the People’s Democracy civil-rights group, and her outspoken approach. Directed by Leila Doolan, Notes on a Political Journey was released in 2011, and features later interviews with Devlin as well as the highly publicised footage from the time of her election as the then-youngest MP. More here.

Monday, 7 December – Carol,  €9, 16:30/20:30, Irish Film Institute

In 1948, Patricia Highsmith was a young writer, engaged to Marc Brandel. She had wolfish good looks and a talent for seducing women. Working behind a toy counter in Bloomingdales, she developed a penchant for rich, married women – usually blondes. Her novel The Price of Salt, published in 1952, was inspired by one such woman. Directed by Todd Haynes, Carol is the adaptation of this story. Details here.

Tuesday 8 December – December’s Comics Lab, €2.50, 19:00, Liquor Rooms

The Comics Lab, meeting once a month in the Liquor Rooms, provides a relaxed space for illustrators, comic artists and serial drawists to exchange stories and ideas and meet other people within the community. For its December instalment, Paddy Lynch, Joven Kerekes and Sophie Spendel will be giving talks – Paddy on his collaboration with Doug DuBois on My Last Day at Seventeen, Joven on his varied career since coming to Ireland to co-found the Illustrator’s Guild and Sophie on the doodling process. More details here.

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: NOVEMBER 25, 2015 →

Wednesday, 25 November – Love, Irish Film Institute, €10, 13:00/18:30

Gaspar Noé’s meditation on the struggle to combine sexual compatibility and meaningful romantic love looks surprisingly dulcet for the well-established enfant terrible of French-language film. Hungover Murphy (Karl Glusman) wakes up to a voicemail from his estranged ex-girlfriend Electra’s (Aomi Muyock) mother Electra on New Year’s Day, launching him into a reminiscence of the unravelling of their relationship. Details here.

Thursday, 26 November – Homebeat #21: Participant EP launch, North Circular Road, BYOB & BYOC(ushion), Free, 20:30

Homebeat are going back to their roots with Participant’s new EP launch this Thursday. With promoters stumbling over themselves to source ever-more-innovative, ever-glitzier spaces, the humble living-room gig has a special appeal. While the charm of Dublin’s revolving door of pop-up spaces is often in their ramshackle authenticity, the living-room concert can abstain from the rat race completely. Stephen Tiernan debuted his first EP last September, and his follow-up builds upon the same delicately textured singer-songwriter sincerity. More details here.

Friday, 27 November – Frontleft: Kyoka, Tengu, €10, 22:00

Kyoka is a Japanese producer dividing her time between Berlin and Tokyo, with three experimental glitch records that borrow from jazz, industrial, ambient and pop. Her sound has developed from playful electronica to delectable svelte industrial with a harder edge. While studying economics in Tokyo, Kyoka bought a Roland MC-505, and recorded a set of tracks that would be released on the Onpa label. She has collaborated with members of the Raster-Noton family like Byetone and Alva Noto’s Diamond Version’s 2014 release. She’ll playing alongside audiovisualist Sinead Meaney, musician Niamh de Barra and DJ Joni. More details here.

Saturday, 28 November – Show & Tell: Creative Conference & Christmas Fair, Smock Alley Theatre, €12 per session/€30 full day, 12:00

I’m about to be ever-so-slightly (no, monstrously) biased, but creative conferences with stellar lineups at affordable prices don’t happen every day. I believe this may, in fact, be Ireland’s first. Show & Tell is a new Hunt & Gather venture looking at honest, first-hand experiences with creative business ventures in Dublin. The day will comprise of talks and panel sessions curated by Made It, Totally Dublin and Le Cool, in which entrepreneurs will be relating their failures and successes, and giving the low-down on navigating the support systems and using the tools available to get your ventures off the ground. There’ll also be an ongoing fair showcasing new Irish design with ne’er a kitschy felt hat in sight. Details here and here.

Sunday, 29 November – Palestinian Culture Night, New Theatre, Free, 18:00

Palestinian food, music, poetry and prose will accompany a screening of Annemarie Jacir’s film When I Saw You, to celebrate the UN’s International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The New Theatre will also host an exhibition of posters from the archives of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign for the evening. Details here.

Monday, 30 November – Beck’s Rhythm Series: Thundercat, Sugar Club, 19:30

Thundercat’s emotionally charged release earlier this year has been prophetic, alongside Flying Lotus’s most recent masterpiece, of the incredible return of jazz-inspired cosmic g-funk that has been gracing the airwaves. Stephen Bruner’s The Beyond/Where the Giants Roam is an aural rendering of his own confrontation with mortality, heartache and racial injustice, all put to his trademark harmonious groove. His Sunday show sold out fairly rapidly, and it would be unsurprising were this to do the same. Ticketshere, Facebook page here.

Tuesday, 1 December – Liliane Tomasko, Sense, Kerlin Gallery

With an opening reception on Friday, Kerlin are hosting their new winter show, Liliane Tomasko’s “Sense”. Tomasko’s new work deconstructs everyday objects by examining their shape and materiality and, implicitly, their human connection and emotional significance. She generates this questioning of the domestic sphere through sculpture, painting and photography, through an approach that has steadily deepened in intensity and zoned in on her subjects. Her exhibition is accompanied by an essay from Sue Hubbard. Details here.

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: NOVEMBER 17, 2015 →

Wednesday, 18 November – Perspectives 2015: David Lynch Revisited, National Concert Hall, €42.50/€37.50, 8pm

Director, screenwriter, visual artist and transcendental meditation enthusiast David Lynch’s partnership with Angelo Badalamenti yielded some of the eeriest scores in existence. Last June, David Coulter premiered his re-imagining of Lynch’s most revered scores in the Barbican. This Wednesday sees his assembled troop – Stuart Staples of Tindersticks, Jehnny Beth of Savages, Mick Harvey (ex-Bad Seeds), Cibo Matto, Stealing Sheep, Sophia Brous and Kirin J. Callinan – giving a live homage to Lynch’s universe. More details here and here.

Thursday, 19 November – Dublin Art Book Fair, Temple Bar Gallery

The Dublin Art Book Fair (this year in collaboration with ID2015) launches on Wednesday with a book signing by Miriam Elia and a live set from Soil Creep, but Temple Bar Gallery will be a hive of creative goings-on until 22 November. On Thursday it will play host to a public lecture by Dr Linda King on identity in twentieth-century Ireland, 1815‘s photography magazine launch and thelaunch by New Dublin Press of Imagines, a collection of scores by Benjamin Dwyer, poems by Kimberly Campanello and viola performance by Garth Knox. A pop-up café by The Market Kitchen will run throughout the fair, with artwork by Miranda Blennerhassett and a selection of design from recent graduates. Check out the Facebook page here.

Friday, 20 November – Emer O Boyle & Meadhbh O’Connor: 2039, Artbox, 11 am to 5 pm

Artbox 2039, closing this Friday, explores the interactions between artists and scientists, and the parallels that tie the fields together, which in turn feed and influence each other. Emer O Boyle uses Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin’s PhD work on decoding the composition of the stars as her own starting point. On 14 February 1974, a stray asteroid orbiting Jupiter and Mars, 23 km in diameter and as old as our solar system, was observed and named: 2039 Payne Gaposchkin. More here.

Saturday, 21 November – Backstory #1: Donal Dineen & Stevi G, Sugar Club, 8pm

Hosted by the ever-affable Donal Dineen, Backstory is a new series of nights devoted to dancey tunes and original visuals. Cork DJ Stevie G is master of ceremonies for its baptism, and will be using the night to give his own take of the history of soul music, from 1930s West African boogie to modern-day beats. More here and ticketshere.

Sunday, 22 November – Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses, Convention Centre,€55 to €105, 6pm

Listen! Do you remember the first glimpse of that breathtaking, open expanse of Hyrule field? Roaming the Lost Woods? That fecking owl? This four-movement symphony will feature music fromOcarina of Time, Windwaker, Twilight Princess, A Link to the Past and new music from the upcoming (eee) remake of the weirdest and most psychedelic of all the Zelda family, Majora’s Mask. There will not be a dry eye in the room. Facebook page here and tickets here.

Monday, 23 November – Macadam Stories, Irish Film Institute, €11.50, 7.50pm

Samuel Benchetrit’s idiosyncratic urban dramedy weaves together the stories of six dysfunctional characters in a housing project, connected by one broken-down elevator. Each life is slowly transformed as significant people enter their world: a depressed man, an actress at the end of her career, an American astronaut. Part of French Fest 2015. More here.

Tuesday, 24 November – Lightning Bolt, Button Factory, €18, 7.30pm

This will be a really solid occasion upon which to lose your mind. Lightning Bolt are a noise-rock duo comprised of Brian Chippendale on drums and vocals and Brian Gibson on guitar, and they give an incredible live performance. They’ve been delivering A+ anarchy for about two decades, and their first LP in five years, released this March, shows an even greater uncompromising intensity. More here.

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: NOVEMBER 10, 2015 →

Wednesday, 11 November – Sheer Mag / SISSY / Oh Boland / The Number Ones, €10, Bello Bar

A fuzzied punk repurposing of teen pop from the ’70s and ’90s, Sheer Mag riff on their comparatively polished garage-rock counterparts and subvert and distort them. Tying together their supremely catchy four-track EP is Christina Halladay’s defiant static-y vocals. On support are SISSY and garage-pop boys The Number Ones and Oh Boland. More here.

Thursday, 12 November – Professor Heard’s Magic Lantern Show, 13:30, Lexicon Library, Dun Laoghaire

In the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth century, the Laterna Magica, an image projector within which could be inserted panes of glass imprinted with images, was used to present image that could be projected and manipulated. Audiences were often given sensory-enhancing drugs, or made to enter the room barefoot walking over electrical plates. Mervin Heard, hosted by the UCD Science Expression film festival, has curated a free, modern-day phantasmagoria, using many of the gothic optical effects developed by 18th century illusionists. More details here and here.

Friday, 13 November – DIP w/ Jayda G, €12/15 22:00, Jigsaw

DIP are taking over the new BYOB space behind Mountjoy Square this Friday with Jayda G, the Vancouver DJ and producer, with recent releases on Butter Sessions and her collaborative label with DJ Fett Burger, Freakout Cult. Expect a varied mix of disco house and boogie. More info here.

Saturday, 14 November – “Writing Long & Short: Dermot Bolger, Aidan Mathews, Nuala Ní Chonchúir, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne and Donal Ryan in conversation with Paula Shields”, €5/3, 15:30-16:45, Smock Alley Theatre

Paula Shields, senior researcher for RTE’s The Works, will be interviewing a group of writers who themselves need little introduction, making up some of Ireland’s most prestigious talent: novelist Dermot Bolger, recent author of Tanglewood (New Island); playwright, poet and author of the recently published Charlie Chaplin’s Wishbone and Other Stories (The Lilliput Press) Aidan Matthews; Nuala Ní Chonchúir, poet and author of three novels, including The Closet of Savage Mementos (New Island); novelist, playwright and winner of the 2015 Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne; and Donal Ryan, author of The Spinning Heart, The Thing About December and the forthcoming A Slanting of the Sun: Stories (The Lilliput Press). More details here.

Sunday, 15 November – Kurt Vile & The Violators, 20:00, €25, Vicar Street

While Waxahatchee, who were to play support, have unfortunately cancelled all their European tour dates, the chance of seeing Kurt Vile perform his newest material shouldn’t be missed. His music has retained its bluegrass-inflected style, but his abilities as a storyteller have matured to reveal ever-more distinctive powers of observation and sensitivity and occasional hilarity. Events page here and tickets here.

Monday, 16 November – “Buoyed” (Michael Quane) and “Bilderstreit: A German Requiem” (John Noel Smith), 11:00-17:00, Royal Hibernian Academy

In the foyer and atrium of the RHA are currently two very different exhibitions. John Noel Smith has a visual lament for the twenty years that he spent in Berlin, a sombre, hypnotic depiction of layered waves bleeding into one another, set over two giant canvases. Downstairs in the foyer, Michael Quane’s colourful stone humans sit astride more globular beings, his own comment on the order that gravity imposes on an otherwise chaotic universe. More here.

Tuesday, 17 November – Brooklyn, 20:50, €9, Irish Film Institute

Colm Tóibín’s much-loved depiction of the Irish diaspora that settled in America has been adapted for the screen, and sees Saoirse Ronan stretching her wings as the story’s lead, Eilis. It is 1952, and Eilis has moved to Brooklyn, where she starts on a new job and a new life. News from Enniscorthy sends her home, though, and what was at first a short visit soon becomes a test of which life she ultimately must choose. It is uncertain whether the adaptation stands on its own, but Ronan has received high praise for the role. More here.

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: NOVEMBER 3, 2015 →

Wednesday, 4 November – Lawrence of Arabia, 14:00, €7.50, Light House Cinema

Peter O’Toole’s classic portrayal of T. E. Lawrence trumps all other historical epics in drama, soundtrack and sheer scale. It is World War I, and British lieutenant T. E. Lawrence is sent to the Arabian Peninsula to unite the Arab tribes against the Turks, but in doing so finds his allegiances and identity shaken and undermined. The screening of the four-hour saga coincides with the recent release of a biography recording the enigmatic actor’s outrageous escapades and haughty demands. In a production of Macbeth at the Old Vic late in his career, O’Toole insisted that there be so much fake blood on stage that the actors kept slipping, forcing stagehands to try to mop up the mess. ‘No blood, no show!’ he is said to have roared from his dressing room. Details here.

Thursday, 5 November – The Re-appropriation of Sensuality, 18:00, NCAD Gallery

Emma Haugh’s collaborative project, curated by RGKSKSRG, opens this Thursday. Driven by the question of what a space dedicated to the manifestation of female desire might look like, Haugh deploys a series of fabricated panels that evoke the fantasy space of the sex club: latex, PVC, rubber, chain, velvet, netting. Material from Haugh’s Reading Troupe workshops, which encourage students to give performative responses to critical texts, are included in the exhibition. Details here, and here.

Friday, 6 November – Bring Your Own Stories, 19:00, BYOB, MART

Dublin Independent Publishers are back for the annual Bring Your Own Stories event, hosted by MART. Completely free, BYOB and open to everyone, ten authors from Liberties Press, New Island Books, Tramp Press and Little Island are giving readings. On the bill are June Caldwell, Kevin Curran, Doreen Finn, Frankie Gaffney, Jarlath Gregory, Joe Joyce, Caitriona Lally, Joanna Walsh, Stephen James Smith and Enda Wyley. Details here.

Saturday, 7 November – Metropolis Festival 2015, 12:00 to 00:00, €79.50/€145.50, RDS

The much-hyped Metropolis opens its doors this Saturday. Billed as a multi-arena winter indoors music festival, Metropolis is occupying the RDS this weekend with panels, talks and installations as well as music from an impressive selection, featuring both heavy-hitter regulars and local bohemians. Saturday sees White Collar Boy and Cloud Castle Lake alongside Matthew Herbert and Todd Terje, Gemma Dunleavy and Clu with Vince Staples, and talks from John Cooper Clarke and Giorgio Moroder. Details here and here. Tickets here.

Sunday, 8 November – Prison, School Tour, Ainriail, 20:00, €7 BYOB, Barricade Inn

With the new threat of a court injunction to force the social centre and collective from the building, this could very well be your last chance to see the Barricade Inn in its present
configuration. The line-up for the evening so far includes synthy post-punk, trancey electronica and sludgy stoner doom, and more is promised. Details here.

Monday, 9 November – Dulciana presents: ♀, 20:00, €10/5, Freemasons

An all-female choral lineup is joined by Imogen Holst and Rebecca Clarke in an evening of choral music composed entirely by women. Dulciana’s third concert will also be featuring Anna Clifford, Síobhra Quinlan, Raeghnya Zutshi, Sherry Hazlitt and Éna Brennan, all in the mystic surroundings of the Freemasons’ Hall. Details here and here.

Tuesday, 10 November – The Lobster, 13:00/20:15, €10, Irish Film Institute

In the bizarre universe of Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Lobster, those who have remained single are sent to a sinister countryside hotel, where they have 40 days to find their soulmates, or face transfiguration into an animal of their choosing before being released into the wild. Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman engage in some fantastic deadpan delivery within the surreal confines of Lanthimos’s English-language debut. 

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: OCTOBER 27, 2015 →

Wednesday, 28 October – The Blair Witch Project, €9, 20:30, Light House Cinema

Late ’90s America saw an incredible surge in the production of paranoia-tinged horror, which really started to flourish, of course, in the political climate following September 11, 2001. The X-Filescaptured this atmosphere of impending doom, as did the conspiracy films of the ’80s. The Blair Witch Project was the first of its kind – an unexpected sensation, it drew its roots from the eerie (and oddly pornily-soundtracked) Cannibal Holocaust, and birthed [REC] and the seemingly never-endingParanormal Activity series. Tickets here.

Thursday 29 October – Atmosphere: In Conversation,19:00, Science Gallery

Physicist Tom McCormack and artist Siobhan McDonald will be in discussion in the Science Gallery as part of City of Physics 2015. Their recent collaborations will be the starting point for the conversation, but that experience will also be used as a springboard to examine what sort of knowledge exchange between their fields is possible, and how understanding might enhance aesthetic experience. The two UCD residents have been conducting experiments on light and optics, and on the ways in which nature adapts to the environment. Check it out here.

Friday, 30 October – Goblin (Suspiria and Profondo Rosso double-bill) / I-F / The Horrorist / Umberto / Everything Shook, €22/15/40, 19:00, District 8

Halloween should always be celebrated with Italian sleaze. Dario Argento’s surreal and unabashedly erotic Suspiria and Profondo Rosso are two of the most stylish horror films in existence, with a vibrant aesthetic present in its Hammer-style depictions of gore and its proggy, psychedelic soundtrack. Goblin’s Claudio Simonetti will give a live performance of both scores, sandwiching his Q & A with Chris O’Neill of the Triskel Arts Centre. Following the screenings will be an abundance of spooky acid and disco, between I-F, Umberto, The Horrorist and Everything Shook. Details here and here.  

Saturday, 31 October – The Discotekken Halloween Bash, €10, 22:00, Tengu

The tireless Louis Scully is reanimating the Discotekken series for a night of fake blood and glitter in Tengu. Most of the Discotekken family will be making an appearance, including the man himself, Eoin Cody, and Frank B, as well as Platinumray. Meanwhile, Slim Tim and Johnny Hammond of Manma Saor will be upstairs mellowing out to afrobeat, reggae and hip hop. Costume is encouraged, but there’ll be plenty of props and you won’t be turned away if you’re not wearing some terrible synthetic animal onesie. Details here and tickets here.

Sunday, 1 November – Dublin Vegfest, €8/10, 11:00, F2 Centre

A celebration of vegan food and culture awaits you on Sunday, if you’re not feeling too scaldy after the weekend’s festivities. The day’s events will include talks and live music, information stalls, yoga, goodie bags, food and film. Many of the talks go beyond just considering veganism, into discussing the ethical and environmental impact of the food we consume. Facebook event here, more detailshere.

Monday, 2 November – Jacques Audiard Retrospective: Read My Lips, €10, 18:30, Irish Film Institute

Audiard has been praised for his meticulous attention to shots, score and the minutiae of scene, which he curates with as much attention as he directs his actors. In Read My Lips, overworked and underlooked secretary Carla (Emmanuelle Devos), hires an ex-con (Vincent Cassel) as her secretary, and the two form an unexpected, intimate bond. Audiard’s Dheepan, this year’s Palme d’Or winner at Cannes, will bescreened on the 20 November and accompanied by a Q & A with the director. More on Read my Lips here and here.

Tuesday 3 November – Gretchen Bender, free, 11-19:00, Project Arts Centre, 

Gretchen Bender’s 1987 Total Recall is an assault on all senses that proved seminal. The “electronic theatre”, as she calls it, blends corporate logos, cuts from films, commercials and advertising into a choreographed mimicry of popular media that careens across multiple screens. Initially an overview, its intensity works to subvert that media’s original impact and ultimately question corporate self-representation. Oisín Byrne’s printed and painted curtain was created as a response to Bender’s electronic theatre and provides a static entrance to her work. More here.

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: OCTOBER 20, 2015 →

Wednesday, 21 October – Gorse No. 4 Launch, 19:00, Liquor Rooms

Gorse is back with a fourth issue, launched with readings from contributors Patrick Chapman, Dominque Cleary, Orla Fitzpatrick, Hugh Fulham-McQuillan and Suzanne Walsh. In Gorse, Susan Tomaselli set out to publish innovative prose, be it in long-form essays, original fiction or interviews. The journal has its roots – in terms of both content and aesthetic – in modernist literary journals, and the Dadaist magazines that followed them. This issue should prove no less eclectic, with a multi-disciplinary array of contributors: musicians and artists, poets, translators and librarians. At the launch, music about love and death, featuring tractors and recipes, to be provided by Gar Cox. Facebook event here.

Thursday, 22 October – The Gaslamp Killer & DâM Funk, Choice Cuts, Beck’s Rhythm & Blues Series, 20:00, Sugar Club

The Rhythm & Blues series continues, this time with Damon “DâM-Funk” Riddick and “assassin and the antidote” Gaslamp Killer. Cosmic vibes should abound, with DâM’s new album drawing comparisons with recent releases from Flying Lotus and Thundercat, and forming part of the new wave of G-funk emerging from LA. Facebook eventhere, tickets here.

Friday, 23 October – Deathgasm, Irish Film Institute (IFI) Horrorthon

The Horrorthon season is finally upon us, and not a moment too soon. Deathgasm is billed as “heavy-metal horror”, and tracks the ill-fated and inevitably gory psychic summoning of an ancient entity by two high-school guitarists. Eli Roth’s new cannibal caper, the Cannibal Holocaust-esque The Green Inferno, looks equally appealing, and there are solid offerings of eco-gothic and psychological horror throughout this year’s list. The Lighthouse Cinema is also running a campy ’90s horror film fest, if you fancy nipping over to Smithfield. Deathgasm details here, Horrorthon details here.

Saturday, 24 October – Ensemble Presents: Masayoshi Fujita [Erased Tapes], 20:00, Belvedere House

Following on from the success of their Kickstarter campaign (and soon-to-be-released EP from Conor Walsh), Ensemble have invited Berlin-based vibraphonist and composer Masayoshi Fujita to perform his new compositions in the intimate meeting room of Belvedere House. His new release, ‘Analogues’, also sees Masayoshi deploying a whole new range of instruments – played by friends, but distinctively arranged by himself. Facebook event here, tickets here.

Sunday, 25 October – New Blood, 20:00, Project Arts Centre

Setting a new benchmark for dress codes (“If Rihanna and FKA Twigs had a strip club in the Matrix” – swoon), New Blood will be a mélange of theatre, music and general performance. Diamond Daggers, Maria Somerville and Evvol will be playing, with DJ sets from Junior Spesh, Sally Cinnamon and Greg Spring. Four rooms will be devoted to the “vampiric rave”, a ghetto nail bar and stripper poles. The evening is being curated by festival-and-events gurus Mary Nally of Drop Everything and John Leo Gillen of Electric Galway, a duo responsible for some of Ireland’s most innovative cultural experiences. Details here and here.

Monday, 26 October – Liturgy, 20:00, Whelan’s

It’s easy getting caught up in what an absolute sap Hunter Hunt-Hendrix sounds like in interviews (his piece on transcendental metal in Vice is absolutely bonkers and highly recommended), but this should be worth it regardless. Whether treating their music as a re-imagined symphony or simply as an avalanche soundscape, Liturgy’s strength and momentum is undeniable. If swoony indie is more your buzz, there’s always Lower Dens. Facebook event here, details here.

Tuesday, 27 October – William McKeown, Cloud Cuckoo Land, Kerlin Gallery

Riveting and immersive, Cloud Cuckoo Land opened last Thursday, marking the fourth anniversary of McKeown’s passing. One side of the Kerlin’s interior is enveloped in vivid hand-printed wallpaper, punctuated with small, light-filled paintings. Facing this are McKeown’s fine drawings of wildflowers: buttercups, snowdrops, violets and poppies. Details here and here.

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: OCTOBER 13, 2015 →

Wednesday, 14 October – The Big Housing Debate, 19:00, Liberty Hall

Open House Dublin is launching into its tenth year with a debate on housing. It’s not just a timely event, but a chance to get educated and involved in what can be done about our ongoing housing crisis, both immediately and in the future planning of the city. The Economic and Social Research Institute’s Frances Ruane will chair the event, and the panel will include Claire McManus (Open Architects), Geraldine Kennedy (property developer), Ian McShane (MD of market-research agency Behaviour & Attitudes), Kieran Rose (planner and human rights campaigner) and Lorcan Sirr (lecturer in urban economics and housing at DIT). Details here, free tickets here.

Thursday, 15 October – 1815 magazine launch, 18:00, BYOB, The Hideout

1815 is a new photography magazine that’s setting out to focus on quality, not quantity. Created by photographers Fiachra Corcoran, Emil Hernon and Eimhin Joyce, the handmade publication will also feature analogue photography and, in the case of their first issue, a special focus on time spent in New York City. It’ll be released monthly, and in limited runs of only 30 copies. Launch night promises pool and refreshments. Details here.

Friday, 16 October – Tongue Fu, Lingo Festival, €12.50, 19:00, 10 Wellington Quay

There’s a bucketload of events at this year’s spoken-word festival, but it’s all kicking off on Friday with the alarmingly named Tongue Fu, a smorgasbord of live literature, music and general improv. The bard for the night is John Moynes, and Chris Redmond will be on emcee duties. Be sure to catch the annual high-octane poetry slam on Saturday, and Words With Teeth on Sunday, featuring two teams of young Irish writers and an hour-long oratorical skirmish. Tongue Fu tickets here; Lingo Festival programme, tickets and Facebook event

Saturday, 17 October – Modern Magic Presents: Luke Vibert, Alexander Robotnik, Automatic Tasty, Simon Conway, €12/€15, 22:00, District 8

Modern Magic is a new series of club nights promising left-of-centre, progressive electronica, curated by Big Dish Go and Signal Code. Their opening night looks auspicious. The multifaceted and many-faced Luke Vibert is headlining, preceded by synthesizer maverick Alexander Robotnik, Automatic Tasty and Simon Conway. Vibert has produced under monikers, including, but not limited to, Wagon Christ, Plug and Kerrier District. Details here and here.

Sunday, 18 October – Paul Timoney: A Guard at the Cross, €8, 10:30, Smock Alley Theatre

The inimitable poet/performer/fun-facilitator Paul Timoney has ‘smushed’ together a collection of stories from children and young people, from Ireland and elsewhere, and will be using his work and theirs to put on a family show. In his work as a performer and teacher, Paul has facilitated projects like the The Stuck Hedgehog story book and, more recently, Saint Brigid’s Cloak, created by the students of Saint Brigid’s School in Mullingar. Tickets here, Facebook event here.

Monday, 19 October – Censored Voices, €10, 21:00, Irish Film Institute

The Arab-Israeli Six-Day War of 1967 was a bubbling-over of tension following on from the 1948 formation of Israeli. It resulted in major territorial gains for Israel, celebrated by that country as a triumph, and heavy losses for Egypt. These candid testimonials from the Israeli soldiers embroiled in the conflict expose their disillusionment with the invasion and empathy with the Arab refugees. Details and tickets here.

Tuesday, 20 October – Nightshade, Kevin Kavanagh Gallery

Paul Nugent’s Nightshade series marks a shift from his lavish interrogation of orientalism to a more immediately symbolic focus. Using delicately illuminated brambles and weeds, these new paintings look to question our value systems by casting some of the most prosaic items of the natural world as sacred objects. Even when not the focal point, they act as stimulating points of convergence within his forest scenes, and add a thrum of vitality. Details here.

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: OCTOBER 6, 2015 →

Wednesday, 7 October – Dancing at Lughnasa, €15-€45, 19:30, Gaiety Theatre

Brian Friel’s most critically acclaimed play is back for the twenty-fifth anniversary of its premiere, this time under the direction of Annabelle Comyn. From short stories first appearing in the New Yorkerand the Irish Press, the recently deceased Friel became a giant of Irish drama and shrewd observer of the country’s evolving cultural identity. Set over the Lughnasa harvest period in Donegal, August 1936, a reminiscing nephew tells the story of the five Mundy sisters and their brother Jack – who returns home, fittingly, after twenty-five years. Unexpectedly desolate yet ultimately resilient, the story transmits Chekhov into rural Ireland and adopts dance as a means of release. More information here, and here.

Thursday, 8 October – Chris Martin, 18:00, The Douglas Hyde Gallery

Pushing boundaries in abstract painting since the 1980s, Brooklyn-based Chris Martin is known for his approach to subject through texture, bold use of material, and engagement with formalism and outsider art. He’s weathered half-finished paintings in the elements, and incorporated as well as repurposed everyday media. Psychedelia, pop culture and graffiti are the touchstones here. Crucially, not an exhibition from the Coldplay frontman. Details here.

Friday, 9 October – Me and My Dog / We Are Ruffians / Mollusk, 23:30, Whelan’s

Popical Island clan members Me and My Dog will be serving up buoyant indie, accompanied by self-proclaimed “slacker messes” We Are Ruffians, and Mollusk. Originally of a more doleful nature, as on their debut EP, Three Songs About Me and My Dog, their 2014 Delphi cassette released with Oh Boland shows that the surf rock Westport quartet of Luke Healy and company have got a definite spring in their step. Details here.

Saturday, 10 October – Skream / Omar S, €20, 23:00, District 8

Progressing from his early days as reigning grandaddy of dubstep and garage crossover, Skream has worked with Benga and Artwork via Magnetic Man, and has gone on to stray ever deeper into house and techno production. A good match at this stage, then, for Detroit-head Omar S, who emerged in 2001 at the minimal end of the Detroit gene pool. Frankie Grimes and Lee Kelly will be warming the stage. Details here, and here.

Sunday, 11 October – The Train, €20-€30, 18:30, Project Arts Centre

It’s no small wonder that we remain fascinated by this group of courageous women from the IWLM who transported contraceptives from Belfast in 1971, giving a two-fingers up to what was – and remains – a distressingly unequal society. In 1971, women in Ireland had to accept lower pay for the same work as men, and were still forced to abandon their jobs once they married. The politicisation of women’s reproductive rights remains a battle – every reminder of this is worthwhile. Not least, this musical, directed by Lynn Parker. Details here.

Monday, 12 October – Tana Bana, €10, 18:20, IFI

Tana Bana is the story of Muslim silk weavers living on the Ganges, in Varanasi, in close proximity to their Hindu neighbours. In the face of increasingly advanced, cheaper technologies, however, their businesses are closing down, and skills that have passed down through generations risk being lost. Pat Murphy lets the community speak for itself, telling its story as a day-in-the-life. Details here.

Tuesday, 13 October – Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet / CEO Experiment, €17.99 20:00, Whelan’s

Drummer, producer and founder of Beat Music, Mark Guiliana is expanding an already impressive career with the launch of an acoustic jazz quartet, featuring Shai Maestro on piano, Chris Morrissey on bass and Jason Rigby on tenor saxophone. Guiliana has worked with Brad Mehldiau on Mehliana: Taming the Dragon and, last year, on Bowie’s single “Sue”. Jazz trio CEO Experiment to provide thoughtful opening atmospherics. Details here, and here.

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 →

Wednesday, 30 September – Guts launch, 34 Lennox Street, 18:30

Guts is back with its fourth issue – “Kintsugi: Beauty in Brokenness” –inspired by the Japanese art of repairing pottery with powdered gold, thus celebrating its life and history. Explorations and celebrations of the dysfunctional will come from Una Mullally, Chewy Chewerson, Eoin Butler, Jonathan Creasy, Megan Nolan, Brian Herron, Roisin Agnew, Rosa Abbott and Seamas O Reilly. In honour of its Japanese theme, Sailor Moon herself will be launching the magazine. Facebook event here, Guts website here.

Thursday, 1 October – Library Project fourth anniversary, €5, 17:00

Library Project has played an important role in Temple Bar’scultural resurgence, and become a mini cultural epicentre. Angel Gonzalez’s thoughtful selection has both championed smaller Irish zines and promoted weird and beautiful international publications. A ticket to Library Project’s fourth birthday enters you into the book-and-print giveaway raffle. There’ll be music, video projections and nibbles on the night. Details here.

Friday, 2 October – Trade (Surgeon+Blawan)/Sunil Sharpe, District 8, €18, 23:00

District 8 isn’t known for its accommodating atmosphere (how much of Dublin will they bar before it’s actually empty?), but this particular triumvirate is worth catching if you’re feeling starved for techno. Trade’s 2013 release may have lacked some focus, but Blawan’s own recent EPs are bewitchingly stripped back and thoughtfully progressive, and the addition of Sunil’s frenetic live show should keep things dramatic. Details here.

Saturday, 3 October – Laurel Halo (Live), Andras Fox and Aquarian, Yamamori Tengu, €12,22:00

The Out to Lunch lads are on an absolute roll with their bookings, after August’s new-wave marathon of Veronica Vasika, Ellll, Mariah Black and co. Laurel Halo’s 2012 Quarantine put her vocals centre-stage, but neither it nor her more industrial 2013 follow-up leaves listeners prepared for the labyrinthine In Situ. Melbourne-based Andras Fox will be composing some warm-up new-age synth rhythms before we all go down the rabbit hole. Expect very good weird things. Details here.

Sunday, 4 October – Macbeth, IFI, €9, 13:20/15:50/18:15/20:40

What better celebration of Our Lord’s day than dream-team Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard ruthlessly annihilating anything standing between them and absolute power. Justin Kurzel (Snowtown) gives the stylish drama a delicious bleakness, and allows for a more nuanced portrayal of Lady Macbeth than is often seen. Details here.

Monday, 5 October – Pilgrim, Andrew Carson, Draíocht Arts Centre, Blanchardstown, 10:00-18:00

Developed as part of his residency, Pilgrim is inspired by the Arecibo Message of 1974, a sequence of binary radio frequencies produced by a scientific community led by Carl Sagan, and broadcast into space from Puerto Rico as Earth’s own intergalactic message in a bottle. Andrew created the installation out of his research into intercultural prayer and ritual, and the impact of these on interaction and social structures. Facebook event here, Draíocht Arts Centre site here.

Tuesday, 6 October – David Godbold, More like living than life itself, Kerlin Gallery, 10:00-16:45

Previous MoMA resident David Godbold’s new body of work is full of historical and literary references, but with added captions, scribbles and colour washes that fragment meaning and leave viewers adrift. There are the same fine ink drawings, but a move has been made from visual representation to a more involved storytelling that questions as well as depicts. Facebook event here, Kerlin Gallery site here.

ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 →

 

Wednesday, 16 September – ∞ (Broken Mirrors), NCAD Gallery, 6 pm

Jonathan Mayhew and Lee Welch give visual responses to the upcoming Paper Visual Art Journal and its next theme: Blueprint. Their dialogue explores our conceptualisation of future: of the structures of morality and knowledge, of hyper-technologised dystopias. It is curated by Marysia Wieckiewicz-Carroll, co-editor of PVA, and made in collaboration with Black Church Print Studios. Details here and here.

Thursday, 17 September – A Kind of Compass, Hodges Figgis, 8 pm

Following on from their success with Dubliners 100, Tramp Press invited Belinda McKeon to edit A Kind of Compass: Stories on Distance, a collection of stories from international writers about home, exile and travel. Included in the collection is Tramp Press author Sara Baume, readers’ nominee for the Guardian first book award. Details here.

Friday, 18 September – #rabbleRuckus8: Redacted on Culture Night, Jigsaw, €12, 10:30 pm

Coinciding with Culture Night, Rabble are celebrating the launch of a new website with an old-fashioned hoedown of “epic proportions”. Masters of ceremony include the bellissimo Simon Conway of Forza Italo fame, who will unite with Electric City sweetheart Giles Armstrong. Details here.

Saturday, 19 September – Sleaford Mods, District 8, €18, 7:30 pm

Minus the reminder that the Prodigy are still going, Sleaford Mods have done a lot of good with an impressively extensive output of raw beats. The Lincolnshire snarl duo deliver stream-of-consciousness social commentary with a John-Cooper-Clark warmth. Details hereand here.

Sunday, 20 September – Bernard Shaw Flea Market, 1 pm

Heal your earthly husk with bargains and beer in the Bernard Shaw, Dublin’s premier vibe emporium. The lovingly curated monthly market runs alongside the Big Blue Bus, who have been lining the stomachs of Bodytonic regulars with award-winning pizzas for about a decade. Detailshere.

Monday, 21 September – Steamboat Bill, IFI, 6:40 pm

‘Steamboat Bill’ Canfield, captain of a run-down paddle steamer from a town in Mississippi, is in danger of being put out of business by his rival. When the melancholy Buster Keaton arrives to meet his father, he turns out to be something of a surprise. Details here and here.

Tuesday, 22 September – Housing & Homeless Pots & Pans Protest, Dáil Éireann, 4 pm

There are about 90,000 vacant properties nationwide, and more than 130 in central Dublin alone. There are 8,000 homeless people in Ireland, 1,000 of whom are children. Are you upset? Prove it! Bring your pots, pans, spoons and voices. Details here.